Struggling to hold back the tears, Hamas captivity survivor Yarden Bibas bid farewell to his wife and two young children who were killed when held hostage in Gaza and brought to burial in Israel on Wednesday (February 26).
After a funeral procession through southern Israel, where thousands of Israelis lined the roads with Israeli flags and orange balloons – a symbol of baby Kfir and toddler Ariel’s ginger hair – the single coffin holding the three bodies arrived at the cemetery.
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Standing at their fresh grave, Bibas addressed his young family, saying he loved them and was sorry for not being able to protect them.
Israelis mourned the family, seen as a symbol of the trauma suffered by Hamas October 7, 2023 attack.
The youngest hostages, seized by Palestinian gunmen who stormed their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, were killed in captivity weeks after they were abducted into Gaza.
Palestinian militant group Hamas returned the bodies of nine-month-old Kfir Bibas, his four year-old brother Ariel and their mother Shiri last week.
Yarden Bibas, the father of the boys, who was captured separately from his family, was released during an exchange of hostages and prisoners earlier this month.
(Production: Lee Marzel, Avivit Delgoshen)